OUR VIEW: 2005 – A Banner year

Although most of us don’t like to think about it, and in fact a good portion of us dread the thought, Fall 2005 registration is upon us. The idea of the entire student body attempting to register for classes at the same time as you, no matter what time of day or what computer you are using, feels like a never-ending battle. Log on. Wait. Wait. Then you are kicked off before you can even type in your first course number.

Fear not, my friends and fellow pessimists, the QUAD system has been replaced and registration is underway. True, it is too soon to see if Banner is flawless, yet anything remotely more accommodating than the QUAD will do.

A few things have changed with this upgrade, besides the look. Registering for class begins at midnight and there seems to be no hassle logging on.

We commend the university for accommodating those of us who enjoy our sleep and do not particularly enjoy waking up at 6:30 a.m. only to realize at this ungodly hour, we have forgotten our student number. Rather, with Banner in place and through the ACCESS system, students can register and access most of their information without so much of a wait.

More over, ACCESS throws out student Social Security numbers as identification, thus protecting students.

No system is perfect, though. We’ll no doubt see problems in the coming days and weeks, but we should turn to optimism, not pessimism, when trying out something so new. Like a new significant other, we are all getting used to this system and have yet to see the flaws, but enjoy it while you can.